Hope and Gratitude
Inside: “I feel like I’ve entered a new life” How Harimalala found hope for her future
A letter from our founder
Dear friend,
As we reflect on another year of hope and healing, I am filled with gratitude and awe for the incredible journey we’re on together. Our hospital ships run on the hopes of our patients, the kindness and care of our volunteers, and the generosity of friends like you.
Every time one of these vessels of hope and healing arrives in a nation, it represents the beginning of a ripple effect – an outpouring of transformation that extends far beyond the individual patients we treat. Our volunteers hear story after story of the incredible impact you’ve helped create. Stories from patients like Harimalala (turn to pages 4-7) whose condition isolated her, or baby Serah (page 8) whose future looked uncertain. The healing these patients experienced doesn’t stop with them, it spreads to parents, children, friends and neighbours, creating a wave of hope throughout their villages and communities.
Together, we’ve brought healing to so many people who had no one else to turn to. Thank you for being a part of this remarkable journey, and for making a difference one surgery at a time.
Don Stephens Founder and President Emeritus Mercy Ships
It all started when Harimalala was 12. She was at school, enjoying her studies, making friends, and dreaming about her future.
One day, she woke up with a sore throat. Her voice sounded hoarse. Harimalala discovered she had a lump – a goitre – on her throat.
“I took medicines, but it kept growing. I even went to a traditional healer, but it kept growing even more,” she recalls.
Every day, it grew more and more, until it became impossible to ignore. It forced her to drop out of school, and changed her hopes for the future.
“I don’t dare go to church because people stare at me. People gossip, they talk – they say I have a big thing on my neck. I feel so ashamed,” she told us.
For the next 12 years, Harimalala wrapped a scarf around her neck to hide her condition.
A small ray of hope kept her going. When she heard from her neighbour about a free surgery he received many years ago from Mercy Ships, she prayed that we would return.
Now a young woman at 24, her hope was beginning to fade. Her friends were starting to get married, and she felt so alone. She recalls, “I thought I couldn’t have children since no one wanted to marry me.”
Thanks to you, Harimalala never gave up hope. Mercy Ships sailed to Madagascar, fuelled by the love and prayers of friends like you.
When our volunteers first met Harimalala, we knew she needed surgery right away.
“The narrowing of her airway was quite critical, and she was finding it very difficult to breathe,” said Dr Collins, the surgeon who would later perform her surgery.
“She had a typical, but massive, multinodular goitre. Breathing, talking, and swallowing food had become very difficult. For Harimalala, her condition was close to being critical.”
“She was such an advocate for herself from the very beginning,” said Maddy Hartung, Mercy Ships’ volunteer clinical supervisor. “She knew that we might have been her only hope for surgery, and she wanted to make sure that she would be seen.”
“I feel like I’ve entered a new life, because, before, I was uncertain
whether I would die or live.”
Our medical team knew she couldn’t wait much longer. Harimalala needed help – now.
“We were worried that her goitre might compress her windpipe and suffocate her”, explains our Chief Medical Officer, Dr Sarah Kwok-Page.
Harimalala was taken in our Mercy Ships vehicle that same day for emergency care. She stayed in our HOPE Centre for many months to reduce her goitre before surgery.
“She was very brave to stay in a strange place and trust strangers to take care of her,” says Sarah.
Image: Harimalala celebrates in the onboard hospital with Chief Medical Officer Dr Sarah Kwok-Page.
The morning of her surgery, Harimalala felt calm and excited about her future. It was a delicate surgical procedure, but after four hours, she was finally free from her goitre.
After her surgery, you could see joy was blossoming all around her. On her hospital bed, nurses smiled and hugged her as she saw her goitre had gone.
And as she recovered at our HOPE Centre, Harimalala would often sing and dance.
“I feel like I’ve entered a new life because, before, I was uncertain whether I would die or live. I have a
new life now because I have recovered fully.” It was the little things about her recovery that mattered most to Harimalala.
“I am so happy that the goitre is gone. I really like necklaces – I couldn’t wear them before, but now I can.”
Seeing the joy in her eyes, you would never know the pain she has been through.
Now, Harimalala smiles as she thinks about all the good things to come. “I can get married and have children now because the growth is gone.”
Thank you for bringing good news to people like Harimalala.
Give life-saving surgery
You can help reach more people like Harimalala who need urgent help.
● £15 a month could provide a hygiene care pack to bring a smile to our patients.
● £20 a month could train a healthcare worker to care for a patient in their local hospital.
● £35 a month could provide tumour-removal surgery for a patient like Harimalala. Your support all year round helps us plan how many life-changing surgeries we can provide.
Give now at mercyships.org.uk/hope send the form back to us, or scan the QR code.
Thank you so much. You are a lifeline for people like Harimalala.
Image: Harimalala outside the Africa Mercy before her goitre surgery. Below: Harimalala smiles after her surgery.
Reasons to be hopeful
Your support means the world to our patients and their families. Here are a few reasons to feel hopeful – and it’s all thanks to kind friends like you.
Lasting healing for Serah
Serah is a happy 10-year-old girl in the city of Toamasina, Madagascar. She rides her bike and laughs with her friends around her parents’ bungalow.
Her parents smile with tears in her eyes as they watch Serah play. Seeing her pedal a bike is nothing short of a miracle.
Born with clubfeet
Ten years have passed since Serah received orthopaedic surgery with Mercy Ships, changing her life forever.
Serah’s parents were overjoyed when they first heard they were expecting a girl. But their joy was soon overshadowed by fear, once they saw their baby’s feet were bent inward.
Serah was born with bilateral clubfeet. Without early treatment, children will grow up struggling to walk for the rest of their lives.
“I was heartbroken when I saw her clubfeet, but I did my best not to lose hope,” said her father.
Serah’s parents were determined to find treatment for her. They began visiting a local hospital to pay for casts for her little feet when she was just a year old. Every week, they spent 100,000 Malagasy Ariary (about £16) to pay for casts and bandages.
shared her mother, Sandrine. “She was my baby girl, and I would do anything for her.”
“Like unwrapping a special gift”
In 2015, everything changed when Mercy Ships arrived in Madagascar.
“The nurse at the hospital said Mercy Ships were here, and my hope was reignited,” remembers Sandrine.
It was many weeks before Serah’s casts were taken off her little feet. Sandrine still remembers the moment the medical team removed the casts – it felt like “unwrapping a special gift.”
Now, at 10 years old, Serah is free to run, play, and dream about her future.
Spending this amount every week to pay for medical supplies was beginning to take a financial toll on the family.
“I was ready to sell even my personal belongings to see to it that my daughter’s legs were healed,”
“Thank you for your help, because you’re the ones who helped me,” Serah says.
A decade later, little moments still bring her mum joy. “I can buy shoes for my daughter... She likes to walk in heels with her princess dress. That makes me happy.”
Thank you for restoring health and joy to families like Serah’s. Right now, there’s another child like Serah who needs help. Your gift today will be felt for years to come. Please give now at mercyships.org.uk/hope or send the form back to us at the end of this magazine. Thank you.
Image: 10-year-old Serah (centre) with friends.
Across Africa
Thanks to you, Mercy Ships is partnering with talented medical professionals across Africa to make a long, lasting impact in safe surgery. Over the past year, your generous support has helped to train 923 healthcare professionals from African nations.
Saving lives with safe surgery
Unsafe surgery costs lives. In sub-Saharan Africa, patients are twice as likely to die after an operation than anywhere else in the world. And the infection rate after surgeries is very high in African hospitals.
“When you do your training here in Africa, you have limited access to equipment and possibilities. But with this programme, you can dream.”
Dr Alida Sidi, Maxillofacial Surgeon from Cameroon
Read more about the impact we’re making together at mercyships.org.uk/annual-reports
With your help, we’re working to change this. Mercy Ships offers vital training for medical professionals across sub-Saharan Africa, free of charge.
This year, Mercy Ships has started a new Safer Surgery programme at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Nurses are attending hands-on training about the sterilisation of surgical instruments. The aim is to reduce the rate of infections after surgery.
Patients in sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely to die after surgery than anywhere else in the world.
With your help, we can change this.
From scissors to scalpels, participants took turns to scrub and sterilise instruments. They also prepared a cleaning station, ensuring that tools would not be contaminated after they had been cleaned.
One of the participants, Larry Lawrence, said, “This training has helped me understand how to sterilise instruments properly, immediately after an operation. We’ll also be able to go back and train other staff on how to do this,” he said.
Another student, Kardiatu Kamara, a nurse in Connaught Hospital, said, “It’s a privilege for me to say a very big ‘thank you’ to Mercy Ships. As you have been training us in sterile processing and mentoring us, we are so grateful. May God continue to bless you.”
Image: Dr Alida Sidi, Maxillofacial Surgeon from Cameroon, shadows surgeons on the Global Mercy.
Bringing hospital care where it’s needed most
Good news! The government of Sierra Leone has wholeheartedly approved an extension for the Global Mercy to remain in the capital of Freetown until June 2026.
We have also signed an agreement with the Sierra Leonean government to support lasting change in the country’s healthcare service until 2030 – long after our ship is due to depart. We are grateful to the government of Sierra Leone for the opportunity to build upon the impact we’ve made together.
A new season of hope and healing in Madagascar
In February, the Africa Mercy returned to the port of Toamasina, Madagascar, to bring hope and healing to even more Malagasy people.
The surgical need is staggering in Madagascar. There’s only one doctor for every 10,000 people. This means there’s little hope for people to access the timely medical care they need at the hands of a healthcare professional, much less afford an operation.
That’s why it’s such a joy to see patients like Rosalinda recovering from surgery. She was the first patient to receive surgery on the Africa Mercy since we returned to the nation earlier this year.
Don’t miss…
the Mercy Ships Church Tour
In June and July, Mercy Ships is touring churches across the UK. And we’re coming soon to a church near you! Go to mercyships.org.uk/tour to find out more.
Image: The Global Mercy, currently docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Image: 16-year-old Rosalinda, who received surgery for her tumour on the Africa Mercy
DAN ALEXANDER Magician to the stars NICKI ROGERS Critically acclaimed singer/songwriter
Dates for your diary…
Sunday 18th May National Children’s Day
Could you invite a speaker to your local school to talk about the life-changing work of Mercy Ships? Go to mercyships.org.uk/speakers
Friday 23rd May International Day to End Obstetric Fistula
Today, we think of the women living with obstetric fistula.
Women like Ernestine. At nine months pregnant, she travelled two days to her nearest hospital in Madagascar. But tragically, her baby died, and Ernestine contracted obstetric fistula, a condition which left her incontinent.
“Obstetric fistula is about the woman and their suffering,” explained Natacha, a nurse from Madagascar. “Women are losing families and friends, husbands, and babies.”
Thanks to your support, nurses like Natacha have been trained to care for women with obstetric fistula.
Mourning turned to celebration as Ernestine danced in the health clinic after surgery.
Sunday 25th May Africa Day
On Africa Day, could you cook a traditional African recipe and invite your friends and family to join you to celebrate?
How you can help
This summer, your support will help transform lives…
Give
Make a lasting impact with a regular gift. Go to mercyships.org.uk/donate
Fundraise
Step outdoors and make the most of the sunshine! From cake sales to dog walking, there are so many fun ways to fundraise. Go to mercyships.org.uk/fundraise
Leave a legacy
Let your love live on. Go to mercyships.org.uk/legacy to find out more.
Volunteer
Share your talents on our hospital ships. Find your place on board: opportunities.mercyships.org
Pray
Pray for the patients who come to our hospital ships. Find out how your church can support Mercy Ships at mercyships.org.uk/church
Follow us
Join our community of Mercy Shippers on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn: @mercyshipsuk
Thank you for making hope and healing possible.
Image: Malagasy nurse Marie
Natacha Totolahy at the Freedom From Fistula clinic
It takes every one of us to bring hope and healing. And together, when we make hope real for one patient, it ripples out… to families and whole communities. A small drop can grow into an ocean of change. Thank you for bringing hope and healing.
Charity No. 1053055 (England & Wales). A Registered Charity in Scotland No. SC039743 All photos ©Mercy Ships: (page 1,4-8,11-12) Joshua Kiew Wing Chau; (page 2) Benjamin Thielman; (page 3) John Seddon (page 9) Elizabeth Page-Brumley, Merel Visser-Piet (page 10) Tirsa Tapia-Zamora ©April 2025 Mercy Ships UK
Image: Anjara smiles at home with mum Lalaina before her surgery. “I thank God for sending Mercy Ships to heal my baby’s cleft lip.”